It's Not About the Money
by 13en-writes-all
Summary: When people can lift cars, fly, and see into the future, you'd think it'd be a perfect world right? WRONG! A terrorist attack in London has the countries of the world wondering if their the next target. To combat the threat, the United Nations recruits a group of meta-humans with singular powers to combat the threat. Rated M for violence, language, and later chapters...
1. Meet the Team

**Part 1 – It's time to bring them in…**

It began with the discovery of the first ever Meta-human in 1937, the Nazi government sent spies to try to capture him and study him to give the Feuher what he had been looking for all along… the world.

The American government stopped the plot, and offered him help in exchange for a trace amount of his blood, and help fighting the Nazis and later the Japanese.

No one knew where his powers came from which included the ability to run faster, jump higher, and hit stronger.

Yes, I am talking about super-agility, increased jumping capabilities, and super-strength.

It became a normal thing from then on, meta-humans becoming either heroes or villains, billions of kids watch them on the nightly news, and celebrate them, nay, worship them.

And yet no one knows where meta-human powers come from if it doesn't come from outside source.

But more on that later, back to the story…

August 25th, 2017

London, England

New State Stock Exchange, the kind of place where rich businessmen go when they want to keep their stocks secure.

The people that keep their money there are the kind of people that make more money in one week than most people get in one year, have houses and estates the size of Bruce Wayne's mansion, wake up in beds that are worth more than most people get each week in their paychecks, next to super-model wives who don't care they forgot to remove their $5,000 necklace to bed, then after breakfast they get dressed in cashmere suits, and put on watches that cost more than most pre-owned cars.

Then go to their garage which is about the size of a typical North American home and wonder, "Should I take the Bentley or the Lamborghini to work today?"

And after that they go to their offices in downtown London which are located inside multi-story high-rise skyscrapers that overlook downtown London.

They usually have lunch with either a member of the House of Lords, or maybe a visiting dignitary.

Today however would be a different story…

The owner of the bank, the Alpha Wolf of New State Stock was in his office, as someone downstairs dressed in a grey jacket with the hood pulled up walked toward the front of the building, no one thought twice about him wearing the hood or the fact he was dressed urban-like, it was raining on that day, you got to love English weather, and a lot of tourists walked through the courtyard because of its majestic fountain, made by a British architect for 1.5 million dollars, and the beautiful plants.

But he was no tourist, and he wasn't there to admire the fountain or the plants, he was carrying a small backpack, inside wasn't an assortment of textbooks and notepads or a laptop, and he wasn't what you'd call a 'normal human'.

If you were to pull the hood back you'd swear he wasn't even human: his skin was grey, you could clearly see the veins in his face, the sclera of his eye was yellow, and there were two long, dark triangles going from a centimeter under his eyes to the edges of his jaw.

He was technically human, but he had powers: he could see structural weaknesses in a building.

The meta-human placed his backpack down against one of the pillars, and walked away, no one seemed to care because students working on their computers were sitting on a bench not five feet from the pillar: everyone just assumed it was one of theirs.

They soon regretted that three minutes later when the backpack exploded… a bomb.

The explosion sent people flying, shattered several windows, and tore a giant chunk out of the side of the pillar.

Two days later Head Justice of the United Nations, Kakashi Hatake met with UN President Tsunade in a secret room of the UN headquarters in New York.

"How bad?" UN President Tsunade asked.

"So far ten confirmed dead," Kakashi said, "Seventy nine injured."

"And our investigators have turned up nothing?" Tsunade asked.

"Nothing," Kakashi said, "Not even the best agents in MI-5 have any clue," he then cupped his chin.

"I know that look Kakashi," Tsunade said, "What'cha got in mind?"

"It's a bit of a stretch," Kakashi said as he held out a file to Tsunade, "But we need a new kind of team for this. And I think I know a few people we can talk to."

 _Kowloon, Hong Kong…_

At one point Kowloon was the last place you'd want to set foot in, let alone could set foot in, now you could hardly find a bag of weed without getting thrown in jail.

But organized crime is everywhere, and that's what Recruit #1 was after.

A single man, about six foot two with spikey black hair and same-color eyes walked through a small construction sight, he was dressed in a pair of sneakers, denim blue jeans, a long-sleeve black shirt, and a Columbian-style vest with a concealed hood carrying a small backpack, no he wasn't a terrorist.

Inside the bag wasn't a bomb, when he went into his back, he pulled out the parts to a DRD Paratus-18 rifle.

He was being paid to take out a certain man well known in the Hong Kong underground, he owned multiple 'businesses', none of them by choice.

They followed him without question because they were afraid of him, they were afraid of what would happen if they didn't.

He quickly assembled the rifle, and quickly set up a sniper's nest, he used a table-saw as a platform for the rifle, after setting up the rifle, he grabbed a small chair, and set it near the table.

As his target's limo approached, he lined up his shot, and as he steadied his finger on the trigger, someone behind him whispered, "Sasuke Uchiha. What are you aiming for?"

"Depends." Sasuke said.

"On what?" the man behind him asked.

"Whether you're going to let me take the shot, in which case I'm aiming that bullet for the head." Sasuke said.

"And if I don't?" the man asked.

"Chest." Sasuke said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you take that shot," the man said, "Not yet at least," Sasuke turned around to face the man, the ASU black jacket with six rows of ribbons, the Special Forces patch on the bicep of his suit, the four stars on each of his shoulders, and the name plate made it quite obvious who he was, "First the world needs your help."

"What's in it for me General?" Sasuke asked.

"Something you want very much," the General said as he held out a small file.

Sasuke opened the file, and what was inside shocked him to his core, "You make it kind of hard for a guy to say no," Sasuke asked as he handed the file back to the General, "When do I get it?"

"When the job's over," the General said, "Get your things, we're leaving."

"Yes sir." Sasuke said.

As Sasuke was about to pack up his rifle, the General held out his hand, "We'll have someone come pick it up." He said.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked.

"L.A.," the General said, "We have a few more people to pick up."

Los Angeles, California…

Somewhere underneath the many freeways of Los Angeles there was a small homeless community.

The people of the community are often harassed by the various gangs of Los Angeles.

Among them was a young woman about five foot two with pink hair and emerald green eyes.

Remember what I said about the man that attacked the New State Stock Exchange, I said if you pulled back his hood you'd think he wasn't human?

Well if you pulled back this girl's hood you'd also think she wasn't human, and she wasn't.

She was from an alien race that have a very particular set of traits.

When using her powers, her skin was a Spanish pink, her hair was bubblegum pink, and her ears were sharp to a fine point, almost like the tip of a knife.

One of the gangs today would be focusing their attention on her.

As usual, she was huddled in her small hut made of wood, sheet-metal, and cardboard.

One of the thugs walked into her hut, "Hey there pretty lady," he said.

"I told you I'm not interested," she said as she swatted his hand away.

The thug grabbed her by the hood, and pulled her to about five inches away from her face, "Girls like you need to learn respect," he said before forcing her into a kiss.

As he tried to shove his tongue into her mouth, she bit his tongue, causing it to bleed.

He flinched backwards, and after checking his tongue, he picked up a pipe, and as he swung it at her, she held out her hand which caused a small rope made up transparent pink energy to wrap around his wrist, a quick twist snapped his wrist.

As he bent over, screaming, a small pipe made of the same energy appeared in her hand, and she brought it down as hard as she could against the back of the thug's head, knocking him out cold.

As she walked out, three more were outside carrying rifles, one an FN FNC, another one was carrying an AR-15, and the final one was carrying an AK-74.

"She got Mike," the one carrying the FNC said, "Kill the bitch!"

As they raised their weapons, they flew from their hands, and their knees exploded with blood.

"Nice shooting eh," a voice said from behind her, she turned around to see a man dressed exactly the same as a certain man that was supposed to assassinate a mob boss in Hong Kong before being stopped carrying a suppressed pistol walking up to her, "Sakura Haruno?"

"How do you know my name," Sakura asked as Sasuke approached her.

"It was given to me," Sasuke said as he holstered the gun which Sakura identified as an Walther P99, "Forgive my manners," Sasuke held out his hand to Sakura, "Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura shook his hand, "Believe me your help is appreciated, but unnecessary," she said, "I could have handled that myself."

"Obviously," Sasuke said, "But I'm not here to debate whose better…"

"No he isn't," the same General that gave Sasuke his offer, "We're here to offer you a job."

"You work for the U.N.," Sakura asked as she looked at Sasuke.

"No," Sasuke said, "They have something I want, I do the job, and its mine."

"And what do you have that I want?" Sakura asked.

"Something I think you'll be very interested in," the General said as he handed her a similar file.

But when Sakura opened it, inside was something she didn't expect to see.

Sakura handed the file back, and spoke, "I'm in."

"Good," the General said, "Looks like we're heading to New York."

"No one else?" Sasuke asked.

"There are a few others," the General said, "But I have some friends taking care of that."

Kyoto City, Japan…

Kyoto was in the middle of their heritage festival, and meta-human #3 wasn't celebrating, he was hunting.

He wasn't hunting some kind of animal, he was hunting something far more dangerous, a small-time drug-dealer for the Yakuza gang who was responsible for numerous homicides around the Kyoto metropolitan area, one of them being his best friend's.

The dealer lived out of a small apartment just five blocks from the festival.

As he climbed the stairs in his brown work boots, premium denim blue jeans, long-sleeve button-up baby-blue tee-shirt, and long-sleeve fleece zip-up, he slid a simple sky-mask over his face which covered his spikey blonde hair, and blue eyes.

As he arrived the dealer's floor, he saw several people leaving the apartment, and retraced their steps to the door.

He didn't need to knock, he could tell the douchebag was in there by the strong smell of narcotics inside, and he didn't need to kick the door down.

He simply slammed the flat-side of his fist and forearm into the door, and it flew off its hinges.

The dealer was sitting around with two of his friends who were armed with 9mm Berettas.

As they grabbed their guns, #3 picked up a small desk with one hand, and threw it at them as they stood up.

The desk knocked them both unconscious before #3 walked over to the dealer who tried to get at his shotgun, #3 simply ripped it from his hands, broke it in two, and threw it aside.

The man grabbed the dealer around the neck, "You like coke," he asked as he picked up a bag.

"Yes," the man exclaimed, "I'll give you everything."

"Save it," #3 said, "And eat it," in one shove, he forced the entire bag into the dealer's mouth, "Have a nice flight," he then reared back, and threw the dealer head-long through his window into the street below.

#3 heard clapping from behind him, he turned around, and standing outside the door was a man dressed as a General, "Well done Naruto Uzumaki." The General said.

"How do you know me?" Naruto asked.

"There's little I don't know about meta-humans," the General said, "I have a job, and I'd like to hire you and several other singular individuals."

"Why would I work for the U.N.?" Naruto asked.

"Because," the General said as he held up a small file, "I think I have something you want," he handed Naruto the file.

Naruto looked over the file, closed it, and handed it back, "I'm in." He said.

"Good," the General said, "Now follow me, we have another member to recruit."

Seoul, South Korea…

A small neighborhood in Seoul, a small group of thugs has been terrorizing a small neighborhood for years, today was the day that would all change.

A small girl about five foot three wearing a pair of high-heel boots, blue jeans, a short-sleeve button-up red shirt, and a button-up black waistcoat waited in the shadows with several of her friends.

The thugs were carrying bats, they were carrying pipes made of solid steel rebar.

As the thugs were getting closer, #4 prepared to signal the ambush, not before a small hand touched her shoulder, she turned around swiftly with her weapon, and prepared to strike.

Her arm came down, but was grabbed by her new friend's hand, her arm made a small 'thunk' as it came down into his hand, she tried to move, but the blonde man's had a very strong grip, not even his forearm shook.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said, "I've come here seeking your help, Hinata Hyuuga."

"Not now," Hinata said, "I won't let these thugs get away with this."

"Very well," Naruto said as he let go of her hand, "Show me what you can do."

"I have to signal the attack," Hinata said before stopping, she looked like she was having a panic attack.

"Ms. Hyuuga?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked up at Naruto, "Please tell me you have a gun." She said.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"They have guns of their own," Hinata said, "They're about to start a killing-spree."

"You're a telepath," Naruto said, "I now know why they want you on the team. I have a counter-idea," he waved his hand, and several people came forward dressed in military uniforms carrying fully-automatic rifles came running up to him, "The lady would like you to deal with the problem."

The lead soldier nodded, and signaled his men to move in.

After Hinata signaled her team to stand down, Naruto held out his hand to which Hinata took, and they walked away as the soldiers surrounded the thugs and forced them to surrender.

Naruto led Hinata to a small chopper waiting for them, "Where are we going?" Hinata asked.

"New York," Naruto said, "Apparently there are a few people we're supposed to meet."

"Not just you two," the General that picked up Naruto said, "There are four more, two are already waiting in New York, and the other two are coming after they're recruited."

Mumbai, India…

It was a regular day in the city, the only difference was that the second to last recruit was walking through the streets to deal with some unfinished business.

He was wearing a simple pair of boots, a pair of blue jeans, and a plain white shirt, it was expected on a day like this being it was boiling hot in Mumbai.

He was spinning a small pen between his hands, his target was sitting at a small café, he simply spun the pin around in his hand, and was about to give it a toss.

Before he could, and outstretched hand took the pen from his, "Is that how you do it," a man dressed in an American Military style General's uniform asked, "Shino Aburame?"

"How do you know my name?" Shino asked.

"There is little we don't know about you," The general said as he flipped the pen around in his hand, "I'm here to offer you a job."

"What kind of job?" Shino asked.

"The 'we'll give you something you want if you do it' kind," The general said as he held out a small file.

Shino looked at the file, and after looking at it for several seconds, handed it back, "I'm in. But on one condition," he said.

"And that is?" The general asked.

"I want a shot at that man before this is over." Shino said.

"Deal." The General said.

Shino and the General walked to a waiting 2016 Hummer H3.

"Where to?" Shino asked.

"We're heading to one more place before heading to New York." The General said.

"Where?" Shino asked.

Zambia, Middle Africa…

A group of poachers were stalking a heard of African Lions, one of them had a bead on the Prime with his Winchester XPR before he heard growling, and the next thing they knew a woman with lion-hair all over her body leapt out of the trees.

The first poacher took a claw across the side of the face, sending him to the ground.

She was about five foot two, she had brown eyes, and matching hair that was pulled up into two buns.

The second poacher raised his rifle to fire as she ran at him, one swift move, he fired, but missed her.

The girl then pounced on top of him, and clawed the poacher across the face in an 'X'-like pattern.

The third raised his rifle in time, and as he was about to pull the trigger, a whistle from over his shoulder caught his attention.

As he turned around, he saw Shino standing behind him, "Leave the girl alone." He said.

"How about you back off," the poacher said as he raised his rifle, "Before I take you down," after he said that, Shino pulled out his pen, and threw it into the barrel of the rifle, "What was that supposed to do?"

Shino simply smirked as the pen exploded like a small grenade.

The end of the barrel was split in threes, "That answer your question?" Shino asked.

The man screamed in rage, and pulled out a twelve inch bowie knife.

Shino simply focused toward the grip of the knife, and the handle exploded in the poacher's hand.

As the poacher leaned over to grab his hand, the girl leapt onto his back, and slashed him across the back of his neck.

"Damn girl," Shino said, "They weren't lying, you do have skills."

"And you are," the girl asked as she cleaned her hands in a small puddle.

"Forgive my manners," Shino said as he held out his hand, "Shino Aburame."

The girl shook his hand as she reverted back into her human form, "Tenten." She said.

"We're here to offer you a job," the General that hired Shino said as he walked out from behind the trees.

"What kind of job?" Tenten asked.

"In short," the General said, "We believe a meta-human is responsible for a terrorist attack in London. We have reason to believe this to be the beginning of a series of attacks to take place. We're recruiting a team of meta-humans to deal with the threat, and your names came up."

"Why would I help you?" Tenten asked.

The General held out a file to Tenten who took one look at the contents, and handed it back, "I'm in." She said.

 _The gang's all here…_


	2. Job Offer

**Part 2 – New Job**

Manhattan Island, New York…

Classified Location…

Sasuke and Sakura were escorted by a single guard down a long hallway with TDI KRISS Vector.

"Where do you think we are?" Sakura asked.

"Don't know," Sasuke said, "And honestly I don't really care. Back when I was in the service, I used to go through this kind of thing all the time."

"Someone that can hit anything with a gun," Sakura asked, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Navy," Sasuke said, "Four years."

"We're here," the guard said as they arrived at a door, he squeezed past them, and touched a small brick on the wall which caused the door to slowly open.

Inside was a small table with eight chairs, as soon as Sasuke and Sakura stepped in, the door shut behind them, and Sakura jumped against Sasuke while Sasuke put his arms around Sakura's waist.

As the door closed, Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, "Sorry," Sakura said as she pulled away from Sasuke, "I don't know what came over me."

"No I'm sorry," Sasuke said, "It's my fault too."

A second door opened which caused Sasuke to reach for his gun, but as he reached down, he found his P99 missing.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"My gun," Sasuke said, "They took it."

"Good thing they removed it," Naruto said as he entered the room with Hinata behind him, "Don't think you'd want to pull a gun one someone…"

"That can crush me like a can," Sasuke said, "Naruto Uzumaki: the ability to summon unlimited strength. I've read your file, and I'm impressed," Sasuke held out his hand which Naruto shook.

"You read my file?" Naruto asked.

"I make it a point to know who I'm working with," Sasuke said as he turned his attention to Hinata, "Hinata Hyuuga: the ability to tell the future or find elements that cannot be found without a microscope."

A third door opened which revealed Shino and Tenten, "Indeed," Shino said, "Sasuke Uchiha: the ability to alter the path of a bullet in flight bullet until they strike the target," he walked up and shook Sasuke's hand, then turned toward Sasuke, "And Sakura Haruno: the ability to create any inanimate object using the pink energy unique to her alien species."

"It seems we've all done our homework," Naruto said as he shook Shino's hand, "Shino Aburame: the power to make any inanimate object explode with a simple thought," he then looked over at Tenten, "Tenten: the power to alter her DNA to match the strength, speed, skin-color, and heightened senses of any large feline in the world."

"Good to see you know each other," Kakashi said as he entered.

"Sir," Sasuke said as he stood at attention.

"Don't stand at attention," Kakashi said, "You're not in the Navy anymore frogman. Please sit."

"Frogman," Naruto asked as he looked at Sasuke, "You were a SEAL?"

"Ex-SEAL," Sasuke said, "I'm retired. Spent two years with Redwood."

"Mercenary?" Shino asked.

"Got to pay the bills somehow." Sasuke said.

"Indeed," Kakashi said, "And massed a small fortune from it. But right now you'll kill anyone for money."

"That mobster back in Hong Kong has killed more men in one year than I did in both my entire military and mercenary careers combined." Sasuke said.

"Mercenary's not a bad job actually," Sakura said as she looked over at Sasuke.

"One you could use," Kakashi said as he looked at Sakura, "You've been living in homeless camps for most of your life. Been dealing with rough gangsters trying to extort money. You killed your first time when you were fifteen, you hid it from those thugs. You're well loved by that community."

"And I love them," Sakura said, "I'd die for them."

"You nearly did last night," Kakashi said, "If it weren't for this man," he pointed at Sasuke, "You're reckless."

"Sounds like it." Naruto said.

"You have no reason to talk," Kakashi said, "How many people have you killed in your pursuit of revenge over your dead friends."

"How much of that shit has gotten onto the streets, and killed so many," Naruto asked, "I'm doing the job the cops should be doing in the first place."

"Harsh." Hinata said.

"Once again," Kakashi said, "You care about that neighborhood you lived in more than anything. Over the past two years you've organized the systematic beatings of every major gang member in Seoul to keep one neighborhood safe."

"I had every right," Hinata said, "Every last one of those thugs have extorted, maimed, and or killed several important people in that neighborhood."

"She has a point." Shino said.

"And I know you're going to make your point," Kakashi said, "About how you've used your powers to wipe out every last person with ties to the terrorist cell that wiped out your friends in that attack in Mumbai."

"How many others did they kill besides my friends," Shino asked, "Their hands are covered in Indian, Jewish, and Christian blood. They deserve it."

"We all have valid points to justify our actions." Tenten said.

"Indeed," Kakashi said, "Like killing poachers?"

"My actions speak for themselves." Tenten said.

"You have saved multiple species of large felines," Kakashi said, "Save for the fact several of those poachers paid for that."

"Who cares," Tenten asked, "Those animals have every right to live."

"You all have pasts that most people would arrest or shoot you for," Kakashi said, "You were each handed a file before you came in. You do the job we have, and you'll receive everything that was outline in the files you were handed when you met me or the General that recruited you."

"I'm in," Sasuke said, "I suppose it can't hurt to see if we can do anything."

"Good," Kakashi said, "U.N. President Tsunade has given you ranks on this," he looked up at Sasuke, "Congratulations Uchiha, you just made Major."

"Major?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Kakashi said, "A new rank and a codename," Kakashi pointed toward a small slot in the table which deposited a card which Sasuke picked up, and examined the name written on it.

"Name: Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke began, "Rank: Major. Codename: Gunslinger?"

"Seemed appropriate," Kakashi said, "As did the other codenames."

Several cards came out of the slots in front of the five others.

"Thickskin?" Naruto asked.

"Pink Sapphire?" Sakura asked.

"Sightseer?" Hinata asked.

"Shocking," Shino said, "Bombardier."

"Felinea," Tenten said, "Why am I not surprised?"

"The people that wrote these are Marines, not poets," Kakashi said, "I'm afraid we all have our orders. I'll assign a Liaison to monitor your progress."

"A babysitter?" Sasuke asked.

"Basically," Kakashi said as he leaned back in his seat, "I think you'll know what to do next."

"Very nice," Sasuke said, "Now can I have my gun back?"

"You'll get it on the way to the helipad," Kakashi said, "I hope what they said about you in the Navy was true."

"What you've heard," Sasuke asked as he stood up, "Sir, you've only heard a tenth of it."

On the way to the helipad, one of the guards handed Sasuke his P99 back, which he slid into the holster on the side of his belt.

"I have to ask," Naruto said as they walked up to the Osprey waiting for them on the helipad, "Why a P99?"

"The P99 is designed for safety," Sasuke said as the six boarded the Osprey, "It's already a safe pistol, with one tweak, you can turn a P99 into a gun that only operates when you fire."

"Seems simple," Naruto said.

"For a time, it wasn't," Sasuke said, "Eventually I found a way to make it work."

As they were flying over New York, Sasuke looked back, and smiled, "What are you smiling about?" Hinata asked.

"It's funny," Sasuke said, "I've been to New York so many times, and yet I still can't stop but think about what my parents would say if they were with me."

"I know how you feel," Shino said, "I still wonder what kind of people my parents were."

"The U.N.S. Konoha's ahead Major," the pilot shouted back into the cabin.

"The Konoha," Sasuke asked as he walked up to look through the cabin to see a large aircraft carrier with two runways, "Who's the Commander?"

"That would be Commander Ino Yamanaka," the pilot said as they approached the aircraft carrier, "There she is on the deck," the pilot pointed to a young women very close to the age of him and his new team.

She was about five foot four, she had long blonde hair, skin close to being pale, and she was wearing a United Nations officer's uniform.

When the VTOL touched down on the deck of the Konoha, and Ino walked up to greet them as they walked up to her.

"Commander Yamanaka," Sasuke said as he stood at attention in front of Ino.

"At ease Major," Ino said, "This way please."

Ino led the team to a small area to levels below the deck of the ship where a makeshift command deck had been set up.

"This is where we'll be working?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Ino said as she walked up to a large table, "This is your primary work station. This is the D.S.I. or Direct Service Interface. It has a direct link to the ship, and your phones," Ino took their phones, and placed them on the table.

"Thanks," Sasuke said as he took his phone back, "Now I know why they took them from us."

"Yes," Ino said, "Back to the D.S.I., this thing had direct link to facial recognition, intelligence reports, and real-time intelligence with the C.I.A., N.S.A., MI6, and every other three-letter intelligence agency in the world."

"I'm impressed," Sasuke said as he tapped on the screen, "This loaded with everything we need to start the investigation?"

"Yes," Ino said as she pulled up a picture of the crime scene, "Using eyewitness, and security camera footage, we've reconstructed a recreation of how the crime went down."

The footage showed a man about five foot nine wearing a grey hoodie, blue jeans, and some simple sneakers walking through the courtyard carrying a small blue backpack.

"Let me guess," Sasuke said as he pointed to the man wearing the hoodie, "This is the terrorist?"

"Yes," Ino said, "So far we've been unable to determine what kind of bomb it is. MI5 and MI6 have sealed off the area, and are still investigating."

The man in the footage dropped the backpack, and walked out of the courtyard, the footage then skipped ahead three minutes later when the backpack exploded.

"Looks like a pipe bomb," Sasuke said, "I saw a ton of them in Afghanistan which were made into improvised land-mines."

"That your professional opinion?" Ino asked.

"I don't have a professional opinion," Sasuke said as he pointed at the made-up crime scene, "Because we don't have access to that crime scene. We need to get a look at that courtyard. I bet one of us could get a good idea what was used in that bomb," he then looked over at Hinata.

"He's right," Hinata said, "I bet if I got a good look at that crime scene I could figure out what was in the bomb."

"Our new aircraft should get you there in under four hours," Ino said as she pulled up the schematics for a special VTOL capable of 1200mph flight speed, modeled after the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk save for the thrusters on the wings, "We have another aircraft carrier in the Bristol Channel where you can take a helicopter the rest of the way."

"I'll send along one our best pilots," Ino said, "You find anything, report to me."

"Before we go however," Sasuke said, "I say we see our accommodations first."

"Of course," Ino said as she signaled a six foot pilot, and signaled him to show the team to their room.

The pilot escorted the team down three levels, and ushered the six of them through a small doorway which branched off into six rooms.

When they entered, they saw their names above the doors, and as they entered they found boxes of things that they realized were stolen from their houses.

After setting themselves up, they got dressed in United Nations blue-camo uniforms, and walked out onto the deck of the Konoha where Ino was waiting next to the VTOL with a single pilot, and some flight gear.

"Major," Ino said as she put her hand on the pilot's shoulder, "This is Lieutenant Sai, he'll be taking you to England. I'll be in contact over your phones. Call me if anything comes up," she then held out a small item, "By the way, you might need this."

Sasuke took the item to reveal that Ino had handed him a small badge which identified him as a certified U.N. Investigator, "Yes ma'am," Sasuke said as he zipped up his G-suit saluted Ino, and turned to Sai, "How fast you think you can get us to London?"

"Fast as you want sir," Sai said as he climbed aboard the VTOL.

"By the way," Sasuke said as he grabbed the nearest helmet, and climbed up the ladder behind Sai, "What do you call this hybrid?"

"Hyper Aeronautic Warfare Kraft." Sai said.

"There an acronym for that?" Sasuke asked.

"Not yet." Sai said

"How about the H.A.W.K.?" Sakura asked as she climbed in behind Sasuke.

"I like that." Sai said.

"So do I," Sasuke said as he looked at Sakura, "In fact, I was about to say that."

"Great minds." Sakura said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Sasuke said as he secured himself into the navigator's seat.

"No you weren't." Hinata said.

"She's good." Sai said.

"Why do you think the U.N. hired her?" Sasuke asked.

As soon as everyone was aboard, the H.A.W.K.'s canopy slid backwards to cover the cockpit, "Alright," Sai said as he checked several panels, "K.A.D., this is Whiskey 2 requesting permission for takeoff."

"Copy Whiskey 2 you are cleared for takeoff on deck one." the tower said.

"K.A.D., confirm call ahead to U.N.S. Avalon?" Sai asked.

"Affirmative Whiskey 2," the tower said, "They're standing by to receive you, and the V.I.P.s, and they're preparing an Osprey. Whiskey 2, you have the sky."

"Copy K.A.D., my sky," Sai said, the soldier on the runway saluted Sai who saluted back, then checked on the rest of the H.A.W.K., "Fuel, check. Navigation, check. Thrusters, check," he then turned around to the crew, "Everybody ok back there?"

Everyone raised their thumbs, "I guess that's a yes." Sasuke said.

"Yes sir," Sai said as he activated the thrusters, "Hang on."

Sai flipped the cover on a small button on the console between him and Sasuke, and pressed a triangular, orange button.

A female voice came over the console, and spoke, "We have thruster ignition," the voice said, "Launch in 3… 2… 1… Ignition."

The H.A.W.K. rocketed forward, causing everyone in the cockpit to be pushed so far into their seats, they could feel the metal in the frame.

"K.A.D.," Sai said as the force returned to normal in the cockpit, "We are away."

"Alright," Sasuke said as he input the commands to find the U.N.S. Avalon, "Destination set. We're good."

"What kind of gun did you use during your time as a frogman Major?" Sai asked.

"HK416 Lieutenant," Sasuke said, "Always used an M203, a laser-sight, flashlight, and a dual-stage scope."

"I used something similar," Sai said, "Save for the M203."

"No one understood why I liked the M203," Sasuke said, "My response was always the same. It's served my country well for years, why should I change what I use on my weapon?"

"I think I get that sir." Sai said.

 _Guess what happens next…_


	3. England

**Part 3 – England**

Five hours later, after the H.A.W.K. had landed, and the team had gotten on board the Osprey to get to London, the MI5 team was still going over the entire crime scene with a fine-tooth comb, and still found nothing.

When the Osprey touched down in the park across the street, Sasuke and his team stepped out onto the street, and crossed over to the crime scene.

"Can I help you," MI5 Agent Garra Sands asked.

"United Nations," Sasuke said as he held out his badge, and a court-order, "Under United Nations Regulations, you are to give me and my men one hour to examine the crime scene, and we'll turn it back over to you."

"This mean I'm off the case?" Garra asked.

"No Agent, you're still on," Sasuke said as he slapped Garra on the shoulder, "It just means you've become the U.N.'s point-man in charge of the investigation here in England."

"Seems fair," Garra said, "Don't destroy the crime scene."

"Don't worry Agent," Sasuke said, "We won't."

As they stepped over the tape, Sasuke pointed at the area near the fountain, "Sakura, take the fountain area, preliminary reports a lot of shrapnel ended up around there, see if you can get an idea of what the pieces looked like," he said, then pointed to the area the bomb went off, "Shino, Hinata, check out the area the bomb went off, see if you can get an idea about what kind of materials were used, and how much were used to create those kind of scorch marks," he then pointed to the window, "Tenten, see if you can pick up a scent over there," he then noticed something beneath a small pile of rubble, "Naruto, come with me."

As the team split up, Sakura began examining the holes the bomb fragments made in the fountain, she would use her energy to create small gaps in the holes, measure them, and write them down.

Hinata and Shino started examining the explosion zone, Hinata's senses managed to pick up traces of copper, steel, and lead.

Shino knew of only one explosive that could cause this kind of damage, not demolish the pillar, and not leave any chemical trace?

Shino put his hand on Hinata's shoulder, and asked, "Any traces of dye?"

"No," Hinata said, "Just a lot of other materials."

"I think I know what the explosives inside the bomb were." Shino said.

As the rest of the team was doing their jobs, Tenten found traces of something that shouldn't be in the building, burned tin.

About twenty feet away, Sasuke and Naruto were clearing the rubble so they could get to a small item, a brand-new security camera that keeps a record of what was recorded for an entire week after it had been shut down.

"Di-Tonics Mark V," Naruto said as Sasuke cleared the soot, grease, and dust off the side of the camera, "I'd say the dust is about five days old."

"If that's the case, we can still pull some of the recording from the system," Sasuke said as he stood up.

Sasuke and Naruto walked up to Garra where Sasuke asked if they could use some of their equipment for viewing the footage.

The footage showed exactly what the reconstruction showed, save for two things, the camera had captured a slight glimpse of his face, and that the backpack had a logo on it.

"I can't see that," Naruto said as he pointed at it, "Sun obscures the numbers."

"Go get Hinata," Sasuke said, "I bet she can."

"On it." Naruto said.

Naruto walked out to get Hinata, and brought her back to the MI5 command truck.

Sasuke played the camera in frame-by-frame to show Hinata the letters, "V-U-L," She began, "C-A-N-O."

"Vulcano," Sasuke said as he wrote the word down on a scrap of paper, and underlined it, "Seem familiar somehow."

"Anyway," Hinata said, "While I was doing my scans, I found something," she pulled out her own little notebook, "The area the bomb went off in contains traces of copper, steel, and lead."

At that moment, Garra came walking up to the truck, "I'd hate to break up the little party in here Major," he said, "But your hour's up."

"Call my team over here," Sasuke said, "I'd like to go over our notes."

As the rest of the team climbed into the truck, Sakura started first, "I've done some scans with my powers," Sakura said, as she handed her own notebook to Sasuke, "I managed to determine the shape of the bomb. Each of the pieces were made of tin, each were no less than half an inch, and no more than four inches. Using linear algebra, I've determined that it the delivery device came in the form of two cylindrical containers made of some kind of metal."

"Could it have been tin," Tenten asked as she held out a small object that looked like someone had took a paint can, and exploded a stick of dynamite inside.

"These holes and scorch marks are reminiscent of what you would see if you were to detonate some kind of explosive device," Sasuke said as he looked up at Shino, "Shino, any idea what kind of explosives were used?"

"Yes," Shino said, "Hinata didn't detect any traces of semtex, C4, gunpowder, or dynamite. The only thing that could leave those kind of burn marks, that kind of explosive damage in small amounts, and not leave any residue is pentaerythritol tetranitrate."

"PETN?" Sasuke asked.

"Yep." Shino said.

Sasuke looked at Hinata, "You say you found evidence of lead, steel, and copper?" he asked.

"Yes." Hinata said.

"I knew I knew the name 'Vulcano' before," Sasuke said, as he turned to the computer inside the truck, and typed in 'Vulcano Car Company'.

"Vulcano cars?" Naruto asked.

"Back in the seventies, two former Royal Air Force pilots decided to start their own car company," Sasuke said, "Their first model was a gullwing car with open ports in the wheel arches which made the car very aerodynamic. They wanted to make it a sports car that could survive anything, they tried to use steel to make a safe car, but this kind of attention-to-detail was almost as expensive as starting the company. They had their first model proven, tested, and ready to launch, but before they could release the car they had to declare bankruptcy, and they shut down."

"I take it they just closed down their plant?" Naruto asked.

"A buyer for the company was never found," Sasuke said, "There had to be loads of stuff just lying around, steel for the cars, copper for the wiring, and lead for the paint."

"How could they get in though," Sakura asked, "Places like that usually have security fences that would last for years?"

Sasuke pulled out his phone, and contacted Ino.

"Ino here," she said over the other line.

"Commander, its Uchiha," Sasuke said, "I need a favor. Does the D.S.I. have access to public records?"

"All over the world," Ino said, "Why?"

"I think I might know where the bomb came from." Sasuke said.

"What?" Garra asked as he entered.

"Who's that?" Ino asked.

"MI5 Agent Garra," Sasuke said, "He's in charge of the investigation here."

"Then he can sit here and listen," Ino said, "What do you need us to check?"

"I think the blue backpack the bomber was carrying was _Speisialta Blue_." Sasuke said.

"Speisialta?" Ino asked.

"It's Irish for special. The Vulcano car company was to offer this special kind of blue as a special feature on their base-line car, the Ace: that was before they shut down," Sasuke said, "In the 70s as Vulcano was beginning, they had all this stuff made for them, tee-shirts, hoodies, shoes, and backpacks. Hinata found traces of steel, copper, and lead, all three components in making cars."

"You think someone's using the Vulcano plant to secretly make these bombs?" Ino asked.

"Yes ma'am," Sasuke said, "As I remember, the Vulcano plant was located in Corringham in Essex?"

"Standby," Ino said, there was a brief pause before she spoke again, "You're hunch is right Major. Not two months ago the Vulcano factory in Corringham was bought by an anonymous investor. Also, there is absolutely zero Vulcano items on the open market. Also reports written by the government agents that went to oversee the shutdown of the plant did note that Vulcano's main showroom did contain some ten thousand pounds worth of unsold merchandise including, like you said, 'tee-shirts, hoodies, shoes, pens, jackets, and backpacks', half of which were painted this, _Speisialta Blue_."

"Whoever's there have everything they need to make a bomb big enough to cause this much destruction," Sasuke said, "My bet is they're still there, and probably both the bomber and the bomb-maker."

"I can have the SAS ready by the time you get there," Ino said, "Garra's going too."

"This is a British investigation," Sasuke said, "So let's haul ass."

"We'll take my car." Garra said.

"Come on cave-man," Sasuke said, "We've got a VTOL."

The seven climbed into the VTOL which took off for Corringham, fifteen minutes later, Sasuke got a radio communication from Ino, "I spoke with the city, and got a diagram of the plant from the London Archives," she said, "I'm sending it to you right now."

"Thanks ma'am." Sasuke said.

When they arrived, the SAS were standing by, Garra walked up to one of the soldiers, "You, soldier, where's your CO?"

"Right here," a six-foot tall SAS Captain said as he walked over to Garra, "Captain Iruka Umino: Fifth SAS Regiment."

"Garra Sands," Garra said, "MI5," he then turned his attention to Sasuke, "This is United Nations Major…"

"Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka said as he walked up to Sasuke.

"Iruka Umino," Sasuke said, "Been a while."

"You're a Major now?" Iruka asked.

"Still taking orders from MI6?" Sasuke asked.

"You should talk," Iruka said, "Being as you're now taking orders form the UN."

The two of them laughed, and then embraced, "Great to see you man," Sasuke said as they pulled apart, "Great to see you."

"You too," Iruka said, "This is your case?"

"Our case," Sasuke said as they walked up to the regiment, "We believe this place is where the bomb used to attack the New State Stock Exchange were made."

"Glad to see you're on the case then," Iruka said, "Let's move," Iruka then turned his attention to the soldiers, "Alright men, listen up," the soldiers looked at Iruka, "This is an old friend of mine, Major Sasuke Uchiha, he used to be SEAL Team 6, now he works for the United Nations, he's going to be leading the ground team. Major if you would."

"Alright boys," Sasuke said as he stood in front of the soldiers, "Here's the deal, we believe this is the place where the bombs used to attack the New State Stock Exchange were created. We've identified the possible explosives as PETN, and one of the active ingredients in PETN is Nitric Acid which is very sensitive to heat. Needless to say we're going to be carrying weapons that are going to generate a lot of heat. So nothing beyond a gun inside, no flashbangs, no frags, make sure you know what you're shooting at, and don't aim at anything that could explode. We want to keep this quiet so the men inside don't get spooked. Grab your weapons, and let's move."

Sasuke decided on a Colt M4 which he attached an ACOG scope, flashlight, and laser-sight to, and his P99.

The rest of the SAS chose MP5s, and their Sig Sauer P226s.

"Here're the plans," Naruto said as he rolled the printed out plans on the hood of one of the SAS team's Land Rover.

Sasuke pointed at the gate, "No doubt the front gate's going to be locked," Sasuke said, "They fire at you, you have permission to fire back. But do not fire unless fire upon," he then pointed to the gate itself, "Once the gate's clear, Naruto will take care of the gate," Sasuke then pointed at the front door of the factory, "Shino will take care of the front gate if it's locked. No doubt when we go in, they're going to start shooting. Make sure you save bullets in your guns. Shoot in bursts or one shot only, but remember we need the bomb maker alive. And if we can bring in the bomber."

"How are we going to identify the bomber?" One of the soldiers asked.

Naruto handed Sasuke a small picture, and Sasuke just simply said, "He'll be very easy to spot. He'll be the one with ash-grey skin. Any further questions," no one spoke up, "Good, let's move."

As the team walked up to the gate, two men carrying Remington shotguns opened fire without any provocation.

The soldiers raised their weapons, and opened up full auto on both of them.

Naruto grabbed hold of the gate, and pulled at it, after a little, the gate's motors simply snapped, and he pushed it aside.

"How'd he do tha…" Iruka began before he looked at Sasuke, "He's another meta-human isn't he?"

"We all are," Sasuke said as they approached the front of the factory, "Shino."

Shino focused on the lock which snapped right off the door like a twig that had been stepped on, "Done." Shino said.

"Good," Sasuke said as he grabbed hold of the side of the door, "Ready?"

The SAS soldiers raised their weapons, and nodded.

Sasuke and Naruto both pulled on the two halves of the door, and as soon as it opened, about a dozen men armed with AK-74 rifles turned to see the SAS lay into them with their MP5s.

Sasuke entered next with the M4, and spotted a man with a Tabuk rifle aiming at the SAS, he simply aimed, and fired.

The 5.56 round went straight through the Tabuk's scope, tore out both lenses, and left a hole in the side of the sniper's face.

As the SAS went through the entire compound, Sasuke and his team swept the rooms.

Shino ran into one of the labs to see one of the lab technicians had an HK USP in his hand, as he raised it, as he was sliding over the table, Shino focused on the edge of the barrel which exploded like a small firecracker so when he pulled the trigger, the gun exploded in his hand.

After the gun exploded, Shino plowed into the technician who landed flat against the wall.

The guard pulled out a knife which broke apart in his hand when Shino focused on the gap where the blade extended out of the hilt.

Shino laid into him with his fist, knocking him out cold after six hits.

Tenten entered another lab, and altered herself to become part cheetah as one of the guards pulled a Winchester 1300.

Tenten ran up the side wall, tore the gun from the guard's hand, landed behind his back, blasted him, and knocked the technician in the room out cold by smacking him on the side of the head with the butt of the shotgun.

Hinata entered the room next to Tenten, she saw that when she entered, the technician would have a USP at the ready, she slid under the table as she entered which caused the technician to miss.

As she slid under, she took the technician's legs out from underneath him, and kicked him once in the face, knocking him out cold.

Naruto entered the room next to Shino, there were two guards standing by the door as Naruto entered, he simply grabbed them both by their shirts, lifted them both above his head, and flung them across the room.

The technician was so stunned he didn't see Naruto kick the table into his stomach, and then kick the table downwards, creating an uppercut affect which knocked the technician out cold.

Sakura entered to see one of the guards carrying an AK-74, she materialized a baseball bat, and swung it at the guard's head, knocking him out cold when she struck him across the back of his skull.

As the guard fell, she saw the technician reach for a gun, she simply threw the baseball bat at the technician as hard as she could, the bat shattered the scientific instruments like the glass items they were, and knocked the technician out like a light.

Sasuke entered the last room to see one of the guards holding a picture of water near the main computer, "Come any closer, I'll pour water over this console, and you lose everything, so back…" before he could say another word, Sasuke fired one round from the M4 which split the bottom of the pitcher almost completely in half, and the rest just shattered the second the bullet hit the wall.

The second round went in low, and took out the guard's ankles.

The assault took about five minutes, and all-in-all twenty three men were arrested, and fifty six were killed, the headlines across every newspaper in the United Kingdom the next morning would be, "United Nations Peacekeepers Help SAS Heroes".

They didn't read it of course because the team had to make it back to the Konoha where Sasuke began the interrogation of the man whose ankles he shot out.

"We have you on the manufacture and use of illegal explosive weapons," Sasuke said, "Not to mention the attack on the New State Stock Exchange, the attempted murder of British and United Nations Military Personnel, and attempting to hide evidence. Do you know how much jail time that carries?"

"Is this what you think of me," the man asked, "A rat," Sasuke walked around to the side of him just as he exclaimed, "Fuck you!"

Sasuke grabbed the man by the back of his neck, and slammed his head into the table, "I think you are whatever I say you are," Sasuke said as he let go of him, and once he stood up, punched him so hard, blood exploded from his nose, "You're not from England or Ireland. You're accent points toward far-eastern Asia, the Philippines or another one of those islands. I suspected they might crack down on letting dogs out of those countries. Must've cost your leaders a fortune to send you to the UK."

"Wolves go where they wish," he said.

"Is that how you see yourself," Sasuke asked as he sat down in front of the man, "A wolf," Sasuke kicked his feet up on the interrogation table, "If so you're an Omega, and a pup at that. The Alpha bosses you around, and throws you to the other wolves of the world if they need food."

"How would you know if I'm an Omega pup," the man asked, "I could be a Beta, at least."

"I'd say at most," Sasuke said as he stood up, "Because in here, I'm the Alpha. I say what's going to happen. You know how this works right? The Alpha bosses around the Omega, and if need be I'll throw you to the wolves. And in this case, the wolves are the British."

"And what does that mean?" The man asked.

"I have all the evidence the British need to peg you with the attack on the New State Stock Exchange," Sasuke said, "I need only leak a few documents to the Telegraph, and," Sasuke then snapped, "You'll have a lynch mob waiting outside the UK Supreme Court just begging to string you up from the nearest light-post, if they're feeling generous."

"Feeling generous?" The man asked.

"You don't expect nine deaths, two people possibly paralyzed for life, and nearly twenty others seriously injured to go unpunished do you," Sasuke asked, "The second that mob gets its hands on you I suspect they'll torture you for as long as they can keep you alive. And that's assuming they won't have something in mind to make you go bat-shit crazy before they start torturing you."

"You can't do that." He said.

"I'm United Nations," Sasuke said, "I have the authority, but I can give you a plea deal. A single sentence in a maximum security prison, for your protection, until the case is finished."

"And then?" The man asked.

"Minimum security," Sasuke said, "Compared to what you'll go through with the British, it'll be like a country club."

"You can guarantee my safety?" The man asked.

"Absolutely," Sasuke said as he held out his hand, "Do we have a deal?"

The man grabbed Sasuke's hand with trembling anxiety, their hands raised, and fell.

He gave up the name of the man that supplied the compounds used to make the PETN.

Five minutes after he finished, Ino walked into the command room as Sasuke was scanning over the ten pages of names he was given, "What should we do with him Major?" Ino asked.

"Let's get him off this boat," Sasuke said, "Get him to a super max prison, something where no one can touch him for now."

"What'd he give up?" Ino asked.

"All of this," Sasuke said as he handed Ino the notebook, "Hundreds of names, I've run them through every intelligence, security, and police database all over the world, about a hundred or so civilians he's probably had dealings with, a couple dozen businessmen wanting to buy PETN to land government contracts, five dozen or so people on the terrorist watch list, but I got to name two hundred and seventy three, and I found this," he tapped on the profile he was looking over, and flipped it around to show.

"James Henry Wong," Ino said, "Known connections to the Akatsuki terrorist network, last known location is listed as Singapore."

"Think the UN has any connections in the Singapore Underground," Sasuke asked, "Might need someone shady to get us close to a man connected to an Asian terrorist unit."

"I'll talk it over with the UN," Ino said, "In the meantime, why don't you six go and eat."

"I'm down for that." Sasuke said.

"After you." Naruto said.

The team walked down to the cafeteria where they got their food, and took their seats at one single table.

As they were eating and discussing their last operation, Sasuke had a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

As he put his hand to his head, Sakura asked, "You ok Sasuke?"

"Yea," Sasuke said as he looked at the group, "Are you guy sure we've never met before? Ever since yesterday I've had the strangest feeling of déjà vu."

Sakura then paused, "Yea, me too." She said.

"I don't get it," Sasuke said as he rubbed his forehead, and looked up at the group, "We six have never met before yesterday, and yet we performed a military assault perfectly with no casualties, when I'm around you I feel like I'm talking to my family, and not to mention these flashes of déjà vu."

"You think we knew each other before?" Hinata asked.

"I think we more than knew each other," Sasuke said, "I think we might have been friends, all of us. But why don't I remember?"

"Maybe we've suppressed it," Hinata said, "We saw something horrible, and we can't remember anything."

"Maybe," Sasuke said, "I think we should do some digging. We might have known each other, but why don't we remember?"

 _Guess what's gonna happen next…_


	4. Singapore

**Part 4 – Singapore**

The next morning, Sakura was fast asleep when she awoken by the sound of grunting, and blows landing on something hard and sturdy.

She walked outside to see Sasuke using the punching bag, sweat rolling down his forehead, arms, back, and chest.

The sight of his abs made Sakura feel short of breath, but what made her slightly afraid were the scars across his back, and chest.

"You going to just stand there and gawk?" Sasuke asked.

"Sorry," Sakura said as she walked over to him, "I was just noticing the scars, I knew you were a SEAL, but these look like you've been through hell," she pointed at his chest, "May I?"

Sasuke stood firm in front of her, Sakura reached out, and touched one of the scars on his right pectoral, "August 3rd, 2013," Sakura said, "Iraq, AK-74?"

"Yes." Sasuke said.

She then touched the deep scar on his ribs, "March 2nd, 2012," she said, "Afghanistan, AK bayonet."

"Yes." Sasuke said.

Sakura then moved up to the one on his shoulder, "January 1st, 2013," she said, "New York… High-heel shoe?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Sasuke said, "Her name was Jenny. It was right after I joined the SEALs, when she learned, she went ballistic, and started throwing things," he then undid the wraps on his hands, "I managed to dodge a lot of things. She wore those sharp high-heels, one of them got my shoulder."

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, "I understand most women are like that."

"I'm sure most women on your homeworld are very pristine." Sasuke said.

"I don't know where I'm from," Sakura said, "I am an alien. That much I know, but where am I from? Why am I here? And above all, why do I feel like we knew each other as more than friends?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said as he leaned over the couch, "I feel the same way. I've never met you, and the others before, but I keep having this feeling like I just found the family I haven't seen in years."

"I feel the same way," Sakura said as she looked at Sasuke, "I've just met you three days ago, but feel like I know you."

"I have to admit," Sasuke said, "It's weird. I've had several friends before, but you're, as far as I know, a stranger, but I feel more a connection to you, and everyone else than I did them."

"Me too," Sakura said as she sat on the back of the couch, "I feel the same way. I just wish I knew if we met."

It was then that she slipped, and nearly fell back over the couch, she would have if Sasuke hadn't grabbed her by the arms, and pulled her upright.

It was then that they noticed how close they were to each other, but as they tried to get closer, Naruto entered in his night pants, "Morning," he said as he looked up to see Sasuke and Sakura, "Am I interrupting?"

"Little bit," Sasuke said as he helped Sakura onto the floor, "Let's get dressed, we've got a lot of work to do."

After getting dressed, and grabbing a quick breakfast, the team walked into the control room to find Ino was waiting for them.

"Your hunch was right Major," Ino said as she tapped on the D.S.I., which showed James Wong, "The UN does have an asset in-country. Once you land, he'll meet you at this small café," Ino ran her hand across the D.S.I.'s screen, which showed a small café right next to a large construction sight, "He'll be exposed to sniper fire so I want you six to be on guard duty."

"You want me on over-watch," Sasuke asked, "I don't think when I start firing that people are going to stay still, and the police are already hard on gun control in Singapore. I don't want to give them an excuse to increase gun security."

"Hopefully you won't have to shoot," Ino said, "We've called ahead to Singapore, and they've agreed to let us operate on their soil, so long as we give them the prisoner after we're done."

"I can agree to that." Sasuke said.

"You see a good perch?" Ino asked.

"There," Sasuke said as he pointed at the construction site, "What am I armed with?"

"M39 EMR," Ino said, "I think you'll enjoy it."

"Where's everyone else going to be stationed?" Sasuke asked.

"Various areas," four highlighted bodies appeared around the café, three sitting at the café, one sitting in a van in the alley, not five feet away, "Naruto, you're going to meet the contact. He'll be sitting at the café, just ask, 'Can I borrow a menthol,' and he'll reply 'I carry 100s'," she then turned to Shino, "Shino, think you can cause a small explosion, and create a smoke screen?"

"I've done that several times," Shino said as he held up his hand, and caused a small explosion that smoked like someone had just put out a fire.

"Nice," Ino said, "Sakura, you'll be stationed here," she pointed at the area four yards away from her location, "If things go south, I need you to on guard duty."

"Generate something to get you out of there?" Sakura asked.

"Yep," Ino said, "Tenten, you're in the van, we're going to need a quick extraction if things start popping."

"What about me?" Hinata asked.

"You're Sasuke's spotter," Ino said, "If things go south, he's gonna have to know where to aim."

"I think we can manage." Sasuke said.

"Good," Ino said, "One other thing," she handed Sasuke a picture printed to the size of a piece of paper, "SAS just sent us that photo."

What Sasuke saw shocked him, "They had room to store six bombs." He said.

"And three spots are empty." Hinata said.

"She really can see the future," Ino said, "Since the last place this bomber hit was a financial center. Assume that the next place they hit is very similar."

"Look up possible places while we're in the air," Sasuke said, "Maybe your informant will give us the help we need."

"Maybe," Ino said, "The H.A.W.K.'s on the landing pad, and Sai is waiting. Good luck Major."

Sasuke and the team walked out onto the deck where the H.A.W.K. had been prepped.

"Sir," Sai said as he handed Sasuke his helmet, "Ready?"

"Always Lieutenant," Sasuke said, "Let's move."

Sasuke climbed into the H.A.W.K. along with the rest of the team.

As the H.A.W.K. took off for Singapore, Sasuke thought back to his first mission in Singapore, it was an H.V.T. extraction with his old SEAL Team, when his CO ordered the team's breaching expert to enter, his friend blasted the door lock with a twelve gauge, and as was about to kick the door down when Sasuke heard something, grabbed him, and pulled him out of the way as a hail of bullets tore the door to pieces.

As he was getting into the extraction which was quite loud, he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Major," a voice said, "Major," he awoke in a start, "Wake up, we're almost there."

Sasuke looked over to see Sai was shaking him, "Sorry," Sasuke said, "Didn't sleep last night. Shouldn't you be flying the H.A.W.K.?"

"It's got an auto-pilot," Sai said, "We're approaching the U.N.S. Hong Kong."

"Thanks," Sasuke said as he sat upright in his chair.

It took another two hours for the team to arrive at the café, and the contact was already sitting down when Sasuke was set up.

The contact looked around before a blonde man walked up to him, "Can I borrow a Menthol?" he asked.

"I carry 100s," he said as Naruto said down, "Took you long enough."

"The U.N. is keeping you safe," Naruto said, "We've been meaning to talk to you. The man that supplied the explosives that bombed the New State Stock Exchange has connections to the Akatsuki. We need to know if the bomber is with him."

"I can't you help you there," the contact said, "I read your profile of him, there's nobody that I know of that matches that profile."

"But do you know of the plot of an attack anywhere in Singapore?" Naruto asked.

"I do," the contact said, "But I need a few things…"

Naruto held out a finger as Naruto touched a finger to his ear.

"I'd hate to cut this short," Sasuke said, "But get him to the extraction quickly. You've got a white van approaching from your one. They've got Model 12s."

"Shotguns?" Shino asked.

"No," Sasuke said, "SMGs. No body panic, Shino, they're going to be in firing range in one minute, there's a water-pipe in the street they're going to pass over in thirty seconds. I want you to burst that pipe when I say."

"Got it." Shino said.

"Naruto, get the contact to the van," Sasuke said, "Just stand up, and walk away."

"Roger," Naruto said as he turned to the contact, "Come with me, don't panic, and don't run."

"Of course," The contact said, the two of them stood up, and walked toward the alley, "What's going on?"

"Things are going to start popping," Naruto said, "Like I said, don't panic."

"Now Shino!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Shino focused, and the water-pipe exploded underneath the van the shooters were inside.

A jet of water and steam sent the car four feet into the air, Sasuke raised the EMR, and fired six rounds through the window.

"Let's move," Sasuke said, "Tenten, get moving."

Tenten started the van, and backed up as Naruto and the contact got inside, Sakura and Shino ran up to the van, and jumped in.

"Move!" Shino exclaimed.

"We're moving," Sasuke said as he picked up the EMR, removed the suppressor, the scope, placed it into a guitar case, and slung it over his shoulder as he turned to Hinata, "Let's move!"

Sasuke and Hinata ran down to the exit to the construction site when Tenten pulled up in front of the exit to have the two of them jump in.

"Good job," Naruto said as Sasuke put the guitar case off to the side.

"I hope this was worth it," Sasuke said, "We're taking a big risk Thickskin. If these terrorists know what we're doing, we could end up risking the ringleaders going so far under we won't be able to find them."

"I bet it will be," Naruto said, "Right now we have to get him to the safe house."

"I'd hate to break this up," Hinata said, "But we're about to have company. White 2000 Saab 9-3. Four men, two Mini-Uzis, one Desert Eagle."

Sasuke pulled out his P99, and pulled back on the slide, chambering the .40 round, "Just tell me when." He said.

"You're going to have to take them all," Hinata said, "Think you can do it?"

"Come on Hinata," Sasuke said, "It's me."

"Now," Hinata said as she pointed at Sasuke, "Two rows backs."

Sasuke popped the door, leaned out the side, and fired four times, the two bullets flew over two cars and another two flew underneath the cars, and struck the four hostiles as they raised their weapons to fire.

"Got them." Sasuke said as he ducked back in, and closed the door.

"Nice job," Naruto said as he looked in the passenger rear-view mirror to see the Saab pull across two lanes of traffic to crash into a guard-rail.

The safe house was a nice two-story underground apartment two stories beneath a large apartment complex in downtown Singapore.

"Alright," Sasuke said as he ejected the magazine on his P99, and began cleaning the gun, "Start from where Naruto left off."

"I want a few things." The contact replied.

"Name them." Sasuke said.

"I want a house in America," the contact said, "I want round the clock protection, and half a million dollars for my family."

"I'll have to talk to my contact," Sasuke said as he put the brush and grease away.

The contact nodded, and walked off, Sakura pulled a small phone out from underneath the table, and placed it in front of Sasuke who contacted the Konoha.

The Konoha…

Ino was in her office, working when a single sailor walked into her office, "Excuse me ma'am, there's a call for you, line one," he said as he pointed at the phone on the table.

Ino picked up her phone, "Ino here." She said.

"Commander," Sasuke said, "We're on a secure channel, and we've got the principle."

"I take it he wants something in return?" Ino asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said, "He wants a house in America, round the clock protection, and half a million dollars for his family."

"Yes to the first, and yes to the second," Ino said, "But he better divide that half a million in half."

"I'll let him know, but we can guarantee his family's safety?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Ino said, "That we can guarantee."

Sasuke hung up the phone, and spoke, "You can come out of the shadows," Sasuke said, "I'm done."

The contact walked out of the shadows, and sat down on the couch, "Well?" He asked.

"We can guarantee a quarter million dollars," Sasuke said, "And absolute safety for your family."

"My family's safety is enough," the contact said, "But I need the money to start a new life. When my first daughter was born, I promised her I'd be a good father. When I took this job, I thought it would be better for my family, but I went too far. Now all I want to do is protect them, and give them a good life. Is that so much to ask?"

"No," Sasuke said, "It isn't."

"Is there nothing you wouldn't do for your family?" The contact asked.

"I don't have any family," Sasuke said, "I was brought up in an orphanage several miles west of Black Mountain, New York. Both my parents died, but I never found out how. But it was when I joined the SEALs when I found my true calling, and I had a family. I was no longer lonely, my team showed me what it was like to have brothers, and even now, I think of them as my family."

Sakura, standing behind the couch was having déjà vu because she too was raised in an orphanage, and never knew how her parents died.

"I'm sorry," The contact said, "I will tell you everything I know."

"Start from the beginning." Sasuke said.

"A few nights ago I was told by my boss in the Akatsuki told me to deliver some boxes to a building on the other end of Singapore," the contact said, "We were told to leave the boxes there, pick up the payment, and leave. As we knocked on the door to collect our money, a man came out of this basement, and as he opened the door, the smell made me and my partner keel over and vomit. I have never smelled this smell outside of a mortuary. It was the smell of death, that wasn't all, it smelled like someone had been in the middle of a cologne factory."

"I don't like where this is going." Naruto said.

"That wasn't all," the contact said, "The man that came out was covered in blood, and dressed like a surgeon. It was then that I knew what were in the crates."

"Humans." Sasuke said.

"Yes," the contact said, "I think they were cannibalizing humans in there."

"This shit makes me sick," Sasuke said, "I'll have someone come here, and take care of you," he stood up, and turned toward his team, "Right now though, we have to get there, and see what's going on."

 _Guess what happens…_


	5. Horrific Discovery

**Part 5 – The Horrific Finding…**

As the team arrived at the location, Sasuke was on the phone with Ino, "He believes that the packages he was carrying contained living humans." Sasuke said.

"You have U.N. Peacekeepers standing by?" Ino asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said, "They've been instructed to keep the public as far back as possible."

"Why's that?" Ino asked.

"We think they've been dismembering the bodies," Sasuke said, "If what he said is correct, then we're gonna have one hell of a smell, and we don't want people thinking their dead family members are down there."

Sasuke was preparing an HK416 with a side-mounted flashlight and laser, and he even managed to get a suppressor attached when Ino spoke up, "What about the Singapore government?"

"We've got them up to date," Sasuke said, "They've even loaned us a few riot cops to keep the peace incase things get heated."

"Ok," Ino said, "Good luck Major."

The team approached the entrance to the lab their contact told them about, two armed guards came out carrying M4 rifles.

Before they could raise their rifles to fire, Tenten had changed into a tigress, and charged.

The two couldn't get to their rifles fast enough, and in one swipe, Tenten had knocked one of them off his feet, and slashed deep into his arms, causing him to drop the rifle.

The second managed to get the rifle about to Tenten's mid-thigh before one of Shino's explosions took the rifle from his hands.

Once he turned, Naruto grabbed him around the throat, and as he saw his feet go higher than his head, he felt a sudden rush of pain as Naruto slammed him hard onto the ground.

Sasuke walked up to the man, and he was surprised if the man didn't have a broken back because he was in serious pain.

"Nice," Sasuke said as he slapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Naruto said.

Shino and Naruto put the two thugs together, and tied them up as Sasuke gathered up their rifles.

"You won't defeat the boss," the first said, "He knows your coming."

"I know he knows," Sasuke said, "Does it look like we're scared," he then held both rifles out to Naruto, "Smash them."

Normally, it would be impossible to smash such a weapon because they were built to take the punishment, but remember, Naruto can summon great feats of strength.

Naruto swung them simultaneously at the wall of the hut where the entrance was located, and the M4s shattered into pieces as they made contact with the wall.

As he threw them back into the men's faces, Sakura spoke, "I wouldn't worry about us."

The team walked up to the grate, Sasuke aimed the HK416 at the door, looked at Shino and Naruto, and nodded.

The two of them flung the doors to the door open, and when they did, all six of them knelt over, gagging.

The contact was right, Sasuke had smelled this time and time again during his years in the Navy, the smell of rotting and decaying flesh, along with the heavy smell of chemicals, and honestly, it never got easier for him to smell it, but the shit that he smelled right then and there was far worse.

Sasuke quickly grabbed the M40 gas mask he grabbed from the Singapore Police, and quickly put it on, the smell was gone so he slowly entered.

The team entered behind him, having put on their own masks, as Sasuke entered his flashlight revealed the light switch.

As Sasuke threw it, the light revealed two men who had to be at least eight feet tall, and had so many muscles they must have been put on steroids four years ago, and kept on them.

Standing between them was a man wearing a skull on his head, had a blood-stained surgical mask on, a red shirt, black pants, black boots, and a blood-stained white apron.

"Kill them." He said.

Naruto and Shino went after the first while Sakura and Tenten went after the second, and Sasuke and Hinata went after the man dressed like the murderous doctor.

The first came at Shino and Naruto with a heavy swing, Shino channeled an explosion where his fist would have landed, and threw the man's arm backwards.

Naruto was nowhere near as beefy as the man trying to crush him and Shino, but he could be just as, if not stronger.

The blow from Naruto's fist would have laid out an elephant, but all it managed to do with the beef-stick was knock a few teeth out of the man's head.

The hammer Sakura generated was big enough to flatten a mountain bike, and the bruises it left would have mean a broken bone to normal humans.

Tenten had altered her psychology to match that of a female leopard, the strongest of the big cats, and had the man in a vice-grip around the neck.

Sasuke tossed his HK416 aside, and went after him with the CQD system he learned in his years in the SEALs, the blow he landed on the doctor's face would have drawn blood, but Sasuke couldn't tell if he did being as there was already blood on the man's mask.

Hinata had used her powers to see the man swing the cleaver he was wearing high, Hinata dove underneath the swing, and landed a blow against the man's floating rib.

The big guy fighting Naruto and Shino swung downwards, causing the floor to splinter under the blow.

Shino caused a very flashy explosion in front of his eyes, blinding him.

As he stumbled backwards, Naruto took the man's legs out from underneath him, jumped onto his back, and using his strength, he yanked the man's head back, breaking his neck.

Tenten charged into the man she and Sakura were fighting, she slid between his legs, and using her leopard claws, slice the man's Achilles tendons.

As the man fell to his knees, Sakura generated a sword in her hand, and stabbed the man through the heart.

Hinata managed to knock the cleaver out of the man's hand, and as he did, Sasuke grabbed him around the waist, picked him up, and ran the doctor into a large wooden spike caused by his overly-buff bodyguard.

The doctor was skewered, but the floor couldn't hold them both, and it gave way underneath them, dropping Sasuke into the ground.

"Sasuke," Sakura exclaimed as she ran up to the hole, and looked down inside to see Sasuke pushing himself up, "Are you ok?"

"Yea," Sasuke said, "You might want to get down here, and would someone please toss me my rifle?"

As Sakura dropped the HK416 down into the room with Sasuke, Sasuke caught it, and looked around the room before find the light switch for that room.

That light switch was very Doctor-Frankenstein-Evil-Genius-like, and when Sakura threw it, the light revealed the horrific truth.

Sasuke had seen bodies that Russian mob bosses ordered filled with bullets, civilians the Drug Cartels had submerged in corrosive acid that hadn't fully dissolved, civilians and soldiers alike left to cook and bake in the deserts of the Middle East for days, that had been hacked to pieces with a machete, and had been through the most horrific torture a person could go through, but nothing he saw prepared him for this.

Human bodies that had been cut to pieces, and put back together, as if a surgeon had done it.

Sasuke walked up to one of the bodies, the person he was standing in front of was a male, whoever had made this sack of rotting meat had to have used up of at least four different bodies, and the face had to be made of at least three.

Hinata walked up to the one Sasuke was standing in front of, and put two fingers onto the body's forehead.

Sasuke could see she was struggling to keep up, when she drew back she would have fallen if Sasuke hadn't caught her, "You ok?" He asked.

"Yea," Hinata said as she rubbed her forehead, "I saw so many thoughts, and so much chaos. Whatever these things are, they're alive, somehow."

"What kind of inhuman monster would do this," Sakura asked as she walked up to a female corpse.

"A genius," a voice said over a P.A. system mounted all around the six of them before a light came on revealing a six-foot-two man wearing an Akatsuki robe with fiery red hair standing behind a small glass screen.

Sasuke covered the man as Sakura's pink aura was burning, you could tell she was mad.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, "My name is Sasori, but you may call me, the Puppet Master."

"Does butcher sound better?" Sakura asked.

"Call me whatever you want dear," Sasori said, "Tell me, as the first outsiders to see them, how do you enjoy my puppets?"

"You're a monster," Sakura said, "An abomination."

"Don't let them hear you say that," Sasori said as he raised his hand to a small console, and hit a few buttons.

The bodies in there with the six began to spasm before groaning, and standing up, "They're alive," Naruto said, "He must have found some way to reanimate them."

"They are alive," Sasori said, "And they do love to play, so please enjoy."

As Sasori left Sasuke spoke up, "Sakura, we're going to need a way out of here," he said as he opened fire on one of the puppets.

The body shots did nothing but slow them down, Sasuke then fired at the head, and the body dropped right then and there.

"Aim for the head," Sasuke said as he switched his HK416 to semi-auto, and fired at the creatures.

Shino joined in with Sasuke as Tenten and Hinata scrambled up the ladder Sakura had made while Naruto ran through the puppets, his strength was powerful enough to plow through all of them.

As Sasuke and Shino were dealing with the puppets, Shino noticed a few barrels behind the creatures, and focused an explosion at the barrel.

As the barrel exploded, a green gas which Sasuke identified as Fozburn Gas from the smell which had electricity running through it crept over the puppets which instantly killed them.

"That's their weakness," Sasuke said as he targeted the other barrels.

As they were shooting, Sasuke got an idea as one of them fell, he ran up to one of the puppets, picked it up, and handed it to Shino.

"What's this for?" Shino asked.

"We'll take it for examination," Sasuke said as he reloaded his HK416, and signaled for them to move, "Now go!"

As Shino carried the body up the stairs, Sasuke's arm brushed against the gas, and it dissolved the sleeve of his shirt, and left him with a second-degree burn on his arm.

"You ok," Sakura asked as she ran up to Sasuke to see the burn on his arm.

"It'll leave a mark," Sasuke said as he noticed she was stumbling, "Are you ok?"

"I feel a little dizzy," Sakura said, "I don't know what's going on."

Sasuke then saw that the ladder was fading, "It seems to be doing more than that," he said as he grabbed her by the arm, pulled her toward the ladder, and threw the HK416 aside, "Come on."

"I don't think I can climb that and concentrate at the same time," Sakura said as she reached up to her forehead, the air is causing me to lose focus.

"Then just focus on the ladder," Sasuke said as he threw Sakura onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

As Sakura focused on the ladder, Sasuke scrambled up the ladder as fast as he could, but before he could grab the edge, the ladder disappeared, and Sasuke could feel the two of them falling.

Before they could fall all the way through though, Sasuke felt an outstretched arm grab his, he looked up, and Naruto was pulling him and Sakura through the hole.

"Thanks," Sasuke said as he slapped Naruto on the shoulder.

The team ran out of the lab, and as they made it outside, they slammed the door shut.

"Shit," Tenten said, "That was intense."

Sasuke set Sakura down on the ground, and removed her gas mask to check on her vitals.

Sasuke knelt down, he couldn't get a breath, "Oh shit," he said as he quickly began CPR, "Come on Sakura, don't you die on me," after trying to get her heart beating, he leaned down, and gave her a breath of air, and then went back, "COME ON!"

"She'll live," Hinata said as she grabbed Naruto's hand as she went to help Sasuke.

As Sasuke was working Sakura suddenly gasped for air, "Sakura," Sasuke said as he helped her sit up, "Its ok, its ok. I got you."

"You saved my life," Sakura said as she looked up at Sasuke, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sasuke said as the Singapore PD ran up to them, and saw the corpse in Shino's hands.

"What's going on?" One of the officers asked.

"Something bad," Sasuke said, "You might want to get in touch with your boss, get a HAZMAT team down here."

"Ok," the other officer said as he walked back to his car.

"And get a body bag," Sasuke said, "We need to get this thing back to our commander."

The Singapore Military completely quarantined the sight, and had started removing-the bodies from the lab, it seemed the gas that was released had a half-life of only thirty minutes.

By the time the lab was cleared, the team was already on their way back to the Konoha, and the entire team was pretty angry.

When they made it back to the Konoha, they stormed into the command center, "What has the United Nations gotten us into," Sasuke asked as they walked up to Ino.

"What do you mean?" Ino said.

Sasuke slammed his fist onto the table in front of Ino, "What the fuck do you think I mean Commander?" Sasuke asked.

"Watch your tone Major," Ino said, "I know you haven't had a rank for a while, but even you must know the difference between a Major and a Commander."

"Yes," Sasuke said, "And I also know the difference between a conspiracy and war crimes."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ino asked.

Sasuke motioned Naruto who was holding the body bag, Naruto walked up, and dropped the body on the table.

Sasuke walked up to the side of the bag and spoke, "You've seen a few things in your years in the U.N., Commander," he said as he unzipped the bag, "Well stop me if you've seen something like this," he opened the bag to show the puppet, and Ino nearly gagged when she saw the body.

Ino ran over to the nearest trash can, and it was quite obvious she threw-up.

"You really knew nothing about this," Sasuke said as Ino walked back over to the table.

"How do you know?" Tenten asked.

"Hinata," Sasuke said as he pointed at Ino.

"Forgive me," Hinata said as she walked over to Ino, "It will be much easier," Hinata touched two fingers to Ino's forehead, and in an instant had an answer, "She didn't know, she's as clueless about this as we are."

"What are these things," Ino asked, "And where did they come from?"

"While in the lab our contact described, we met an Akatsuki member named 'Sasori' who called himself the 'Puppet Master'," Sasuke said, "He called them his 'puppets', he created them out of people he captured off the streets."

"Is it alive?" Ino asked.

"Not anymore," Sasuke said, "We found their weakness while they were down there. You can either shoot them in the head, or you can introduce them to Fozburn Gas infused with an electrical charge."

"How'd you find that out?" Ino asked.

"There were barrels of the stuff inside of the lab," Sasuke said, "While we were on the plane, we could only guess that this 'Puppet Master' needed some way to control these things, I guess he installed some kind of failsafe in these things."

"You think Fozburn gas is his answer?" Ino asked.

"Yes," Sasuke said, "Sort of a kill-switch."

"What's Fozburn gas?" Naruto asked.

"It's a highly corrosive green gas," Sasuke said, "Almost always when it's introduced to air it emits and electrical charge," he then showed his arm, "Hence the burns, anything with a higher strength than leather will block it, which is the main reason why most meta-human costumes are made out of it, aside from the fact they just look cool."

"I want an autopsy of this thing," Ino said as she turned to Sakura, "Sakura, your medically trained, can you do it?"

"Yea," Sakura said, "I bet I can, but I'll need an assistant."

"I'll help," Sasuke said as he raised his hand, "During my time in the SEALs I helped dozens of field medics."

"Ok," Sakura said, "Let's get this thing down to the infirmary, and get started."

 _So the Akatsuki is creating zombie-creatures, wonder what will be revealed next? Tune in next time for another exciting episode of: It's Not About the Money…_


	6. Discovery

**Part 6 – A New Lead…**

After Sakura had received a check-up, being as Sasuke had to give her the kiss of life back in Singapore, she was given a clean bill of health.

Then Sasuke was given treatment for the burn on his arm, and both she and Sakura got back to work.

Two hours later, Sakura and Sasuke were in a sealed-off room in the infirmary doing an autopsy of the stitched-together corpse.

The organs looked like they had also been fabricated from multiple hosts, and rather expertly done.

After another two hours, Sakura started documenting the remains, "There are numerous sutures along most of the body parts and organs," she said into her recorder, "It seems that the Puppet Master made this male from a Caucasian male, an unknown African, and a Polynesian male. The skeleton seems to be from one man, I still haven't gotten to the lower body yet."

As she clicked the recorder off, she walked over to the sink, and washed her hands, there was no blood in the body, but there was plenty of bile, and it was very gross.

As she washed her hands, she saw Sasuke sitting in the corner, thinking of something.

Sakura walked up to him, and as she sat next to him, she spoke, "You ok?"

"No, not really," Sasuke said, "This case just gets stranger and stranger, and it has a way of getting to you."

"I know what you mean," Sakura said, "You never can get used to death can you?"

"Not even as a former SEAL," Sasuke said, "I saw a lot of death during my time in the Special Forces, bodies mutilated so bad an open coffin at the funeral would be considered illegal, I actually had a few run-ins with various meta-humans, on the opposite side of the law that would use their powers to murder people in the most gruesome ways. They all had their weaknesses though, all we had to do was find it."

"So much pain," Sakura said as she sat next to him, "It's like there's more bonding us than I thought."

"You mean because you're a meta-human?" Sasuke asked.

"And an alien," Sakura said, "But I've never minded anyone seeing me in my true form in combat because I can't help it, the rest of the time I try to hide it because it doesn't look normal."

"Why would you hide it," Sasuke asked, "You have a gift."

"I think it's hideous," Sakura said, "You humans have your singular skin tone, mine is not normal, and neither are my ears when I'm in my alien form."

"Nonsense," Sasuke said, "You're beautiful, you could never look ugly."

"Oh yea," Sakura asked as she stood up, and closed the curtains, "Try this."

The dim light provided Sasuke with a clear enough picture of her alien form, her skin was Spanish pink, her hair was the same color it always was, her ears were very sharp like an elf's, her eyes turned from normal human eyes to solid green eyes, and various lines like tattoos appeared on her face.

Sasuke stood up, "Wow." He said.

"I know," Sakura said as she turned away, "I'm hideous."

"No you're not," Sasuke said as he walked over to her, and turned her towards him, "You're breathtaking."

"You're just saying that." Sakura said.

"Am I," Sasuke asked as he lifted her face so she could look into his eyes, "I wouldn't lie to you, not now."

Sakura could tell from the look in his eyes that he was telling the truth, and she smiled at his sincerity.

The two of them right then noticed how close they were, but like last time, right before they could kiss, Naruto barged into the room, "Hey," he said as he entered.

"Nice," Sasuke said as they moved apart.

"Sorry," Naruto said as he walked over to the corpse on the table, "Ino wants to know how the autopsy's going."

"We've managed to identify that this body is made of several different pieces from several distinctive ethnicities," Sakura said, "It had to have taken two months to put all the pieces together."

"But how did it manage to stay alive?" Naruto asked.

"We've already found that one out," Sasuke said as he walked up to a small table with a light shining on a long medical dish covered by a piece of bloody cloth, Sasuke removed the cloth, and revealed a connection of metal plate with barbs sticking out of the plates, and at the end was a cord with several bloody spikes sticking out.

"What the fuck is this?" Naruto asked.

"We don't know exactly what it's called," Sasuke said, "Me and Sakura call it the Animator," we pulled it out of that thing's spinal column," he then pointed to the barbs, "These barbs here go in-between the individual vertebrae," he then picked up the cord that contained the bloody spikes, "And this part went into the brain via an hole drilled into the base of the skull that would send electrical impulses throughout the spine, reanimating it."

"Damn," Naruto said, "This asshole really went all out."

"Yea," Sasuke said, "But nothing to tell us who any of these people were."

"I'd better present this to Ino," Naruto said, "She'll want to know what you've found."

"Go ahead," Sasuke said as he handed Naruto the medical dish, "Keep it in the dish."

"Ok," Naruto said as he took the dish, and left the room.

Sasuke sat back in the chair against the north wall of the room, and exhaled slowly.

"No rest for the weary?" Sakura asked.

"Apparently not," Sasuke said, "By the way, I noticed how you got dizzy when you had that mask on for half an hour."

"I guess I need some of the other gasses in the air to function normally," Sakura said, "I never did a study on it."

"Maybe we can do a study on it when this is over," Sasuke said, "I can fund it."

"You can do that?" Sakura asked.

"I was an international mercenary remember?" Sasuke asked.

"You must have made some pretty good money," Sakura said as she sat next to Sasuke.

"I got around." Sasuke said.

"Anyway," Sakura said as she stood up, "I guess we should get back to work."

"Well that was productive." Sasuke thought as he stood up.

Sakura slid on a second pair of surgical gloves, and decided to go through the knee, as she went into the top, the scalpel hit metal.

"Retractors," Sakura said as she held her hand out to Sasuke.

"Retractors," Sasuke said as she handed the two metal grips to Sakura.

Sakura spread apart the knee to reveal the knee was synthetic.

"Looks like we found out common link," Sakura said as he went down the knee, "He missed it."

"I don't think so," Sasuke said as he pointed at the area near the ankle where there was a big heavy gouge in the metal, "These marks are made by a file, and this is where the serial numbers would be."

"There must be something we can do to identify who owned this leg," Sakura said.

"Without the serial number we can't get a positive identification on the man that owns the leg," Sasuke said as he removed the leg from the pieced-together flesh, "But, I bet trace elements inside might be able to identify where the last place this leg was before it ended up in this body."

"And we know someone who can do that." Sakura said.

Sasuke and Sakura brought the leg up to the command center where the team was discussing the Animator with Ino, "You're here," she said as the two of them entered, "What do you need?"

"Some serious help," Sakura said as she held up the prosthetic leg, "We found this in the puppet we took from Singapore, and we were wondering if you could identify some of the elements in it so we can find out where it was last before it ended up in this creature."

"Sure," Hinata said, then pointed to a small tablet, "Put it down over there."

Sakura put the titanium leg down on the table, and as she looked at the leg, she focused on the elements she saw on the leg.

"What do your magic eyes see?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm detecting traces of Andradite, Beryl, Platinum, Quartz, Basalt, and Fireclay." Hinata said.

"What does that tell us?" Ino asked.

"One thing," Shino said as he walked over to the D.S.I., and pulled up the world map, "Several years ago, I was helping some old friends with a job they were doing," he zoomed in on Russia, "Andradite, Beryl, Platinum, and Quartz all together can only be found in one place," he tapped on the Ural Mountains.

"The Urals," Sasuke said, "Brilliant Shino, positively brilliant."

"What about the Basalt and the Fireclay," Ino asked, "That could come from anywhere in the world?"

"All those four elements and the Basalt and Fireclay," Sasuke asked, "Can only come from one place…" he pointed at Hinata.

Hinata responded, "The Eastern Slope."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Sasuke said as he tapped on the Eastern Slope of the Ural Mountains.

"But there are several towns and oblasts along the Eastern Slope," Ino said, "It'd take us weeks to survey the entire slope."

"Hinata," Sasuke said, "Is there anything else on that leg?"

"Yes, actually," Hinata said as she looked more closely at the leg, "I'm detecting traces of Iron and Steel."

"Processed?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes." Hinata said.

"That narrows it down even more," Sasuke said as he zoomed in, and tapped on Sverdlovsk Oblast."

"Sverdlovsk?" Ino asked.

"It is where some of Russia's Iron and Steel is processed," Sasuke said, "Two hours ago, we didn't even know what made these things tick, now we know where one of these things' parts was."

"We have a general idea," Naruto said, "We don't know exactly where the leg came from."

"All of these elements have something in common," Sasuke said, "They all have to be processed, a place that processes gemstones, can't be a lot of those in Sverdlovsk."

"True," Ino said as she turned to her soldiers, "Get on the phone with the Russian Government, see if they can give us a few leads."

"What about us?" Sasuke asked.

"You've been hard at work," Ino said, "Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

"That might be a good idea," Sasuke said as he turned to his team, "Let's get some rest."

As the team walked down to their quarters, Sasuke could tell his team was exhausted.

The second Naruto entered his room, he face-planted into the bed without taking anything off anything, and immediately started snoring.

Shino walked into his room, kicked off his boots, and fell asleep.

Tenten removed her boots and jacket, laid back on her bed, and was asleep in a few minutes.

Hinata just kicked off her shoes, sat back on her bed, and started reading one of the books she brought along.

Sasuke meanwhile had decided to train a little, he had used the gym for half an hour before coming back to the room, when he did, he saw a liquor glass had been broken, and he heard the shower running.

Sasuke walked over, and noticed the door was hallway opened, but there were no clothes on the floor.

He opened the door to see Sakura sitting there, hugging her knees to her chest, and shivering.

He pulled off his jacket, tossed it onto the floor, and walked over to the shower.

He sat down next to Sakura who leaned on him, and grabbed his arm, "My hands won't stop shaking," she said, "And I can't get those images out of my head."

"Let me see," Sasuke said as he held out his hand, Sakura held out her hands to Sasuke who examined them, then brought them to his lips, and kissed them each, "Better?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes." She replied.

"Are you cold?" Sasuke asked.

After Sakura nodded, Sasuke reached up, turned on the warm water before wrapping his arm around Sakura's shoulders, and bringing her closer towards him.

"It's like being stuck in a horror movie," she said, "It's scary."

"Don't worry," Sasuke said, "I'll be here to help."

"You want to protect me?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Sasuke said.


End file.
